Aerospace Event 2026
29-30 April 2026
BAWA, Bristol, UK
The Aerospace Event, organised by the Aerospace Committee and the West of England Branch of the British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing (BINDT), took place from 29-30 April 2026 at the BAWA Centre, Filton, Bristol. This is the only event in the UK dedicated solely to NDT in aerospace!
The event included:
Spotlight sessions
New materials and processes
A major equipment exhibition.
An Aerospace Exhibition ran alongside the event, which showcased the latest products, innovations and technology available to the industry today. This was an excellent opportunity to meet with industry colleagues, network and learn about the very latest NDT technology and services available from around the world.
| Exhibitors | ||
| Company | Stand number | Website |
| Argyll Ruane Ltd | 11 |  www.argyllruane.com |
| Baugh & Weedon Ltd | 3 |  www.bw-nde.com |
| Dakota NDT | 5 |  www.dakotandt.com |
| Eddyfi Technologies | 12 |  www.eddyfi.com |
| ETher NDE Ltd | 2 |  www.ethernde.com |
| Evident Europe GmbH – UK Branch | 4 |  www.evidentscientific.com |
| Fidgeon Ltd | 17 |  www.fidgeon.co.uk |
| Foerster UK Ltd | 1 |  www.foerstergroup.co.uk |
| HTSL Ltd | 14 |  www.htslgroup.co.uk |
| JME Ltd | 7 |  www.jme.co.uk |
| JR Technology Ltd | 16 |  www.jrtech.uk |
| Lavender International NDT Consultancy Services Ltd | 9 |  www.lavender-ndt.com |
| Scantron Industrial Products Ltd | 21 |  www.scantronltd.co.uk |
| Sonatest Ltd | 10 |  www.sonatest.com |
| Sonaxis SA | 13 |  www.sonaxis.com |
| South West School of NDT | 19 |  www.swsndt.co.uk |
| SREM Technologies | 6 |  www.srem.fr |
| Tieval Ltd | 15 |  www.tieval.com |
| TPAC NDT UK Ltd | 18 |  Logo.jpg) www.thephasedarraycompany.com |
| VisiConsult X-ray Systems & Solutions GmbH | 20 |  www.visiconsult.de |
| Day one – Wednesday 29 April 2026 | ||
| All presentations will take place in the Concorde Room (ground floor by the reception desk) | ||
| 08.30-09.30 | Registration, tea, coffee and biscuits – Concorde Room | |
| 09.30-09.40 | Welcome address – Introduction to the programme | Tom Bertenshaw GKN Aerospace Services Ltd, UK, and Chair of the West of England Branch |
| Session 1A: State of the industry | Chair: Neal Goodman | |
| 09.40-10.00 | State of vision acuity and colour perception standard – How NANDTB UK perceives the current state | Patrick Boulton BINDT, UK |
| 10.00-10.20 | Training school state | Chris Minton South West School of NDT, UK |
| 10.20-11.00 | Exhibition, tea and coffee – Concorde Room | |
| Session 1B: State of the industry continued | Chair: Tom O'Hare | |
| 11.00-11.20 | UK Update – State of industry | Tim Barden Rolls-Royce plc, UK, and RCNDE |
| 11.20-11.40 | Managing change within aerospace NDE and measurement | Tom O’ Hare Short Brothers plc, a Boeing Company, UK |
| 11.40-12.12 | Exhibitor spotlight session | |
| 11.40-11.42 11.42-11.44 11.44-11.46 11.46-11.48 11.48-11.50 11.50-11.52 11.52-11.54 11.54-11.56 11.56-11.58 12.58-12.00 12.00-12.02 12.02-12.04 12.04-12.06 12.06-12.08 12.08-12.10 12.10-12.12 | Tieval Ltd JME Ltd Foerster UK Ltd Evident Europe GmbH – UK Branch HTSL Eddyfi Technologies ETher NDE Baugh & Weedon Ltd SREM Technologies Peak NDT Ltd Scantron Industrial Products Ltd TPAC NDT UK Ltd Dakota NDT Sonaxis SA VisiConsult X-ray Systems & Solutions GmbH JR Technology Ltd | |
| 12.12-13.50 | Exhibition and lunch – Concorde Room | |
| Session 1C: State of the industry – Feedback session | Chair: Tom Bertenshaw | |
| 13.50-14.10 | Panel session: state of the industry open discussion | Tim Barden Rolls-Royce plc, UK |
| Session 2A: NDT regulations | Chair: Chris Minton | |
| 14.10-14.30 | Updates to EN4179 | Kevin Pickup BAE Systems, UK |
| 14.30-14.50 | Revision of TR14748 – Qualification of NDT | Tom Bertenshaw On behalf of BSI Group, UK |
| 14.50-15.10 | Penetrant testing: advantages of using biodegradable fluorescent penetrant in the aerospace industry (health, safety, environment) | Fabien Cormier SREM Technologies, France |
| 15.10-15.30 | Exhibition, tea and coffee – Concorde Room | |
| Session 2B: NDT regulations continued | ||
| 15.30-15.50 | Composite conversion for NDT technicians | Rob Rose National Composites Centre, UK |
| 15.50-16.10 | Online remote training – Procedures put in place following COVID-19 | Patrick Boulton BINDT, UK |
| 16.10-16.30 | ET requirements and syllabus development update: the introduction of learning outcomes and progress on the expansion to scope | Howard Garlick BINDT, UK |
| 16.30-17.00 | Q&A session | |
| 17.00 | Day one raffle and closing address | |
| Day two – Thursday 30 April 2026 | ||
| 08.30-09.30 | Registration, tea, coffee and biscuits – Concorde Room | |
| 09.30-09.40 | Welcome address – Introduction to the programme | Tom Bertenshaw GKN Aerospace Services Ltd, UK, and Chair of the West of England Branch |
| Session 3A: Changes in the air and NDT of new materials and processes | Chair: Tom O'Hare | |
| 09.40-10.00 | Beyond the capillary: the evolution of surface inspection from ancient metallurgy to nano liquids and digital physics | Hasan Yasin Celik WiNDT, UK |
| 10.00-10.20 | From tradition to automation: tap testing for today’s materials | Sam Hurrell TWI, UK |
| 10.20-10.40 | Cart/AGV approach with aerospace water wedge | Etienne Grondin Evident Europe GmbH – UK Branch |
| 10.40-11.00 | µ-VIS X-ray imaging centre computed tomography facility: a focus on best practice, training and certification | Katy Rankin University of Southampton, UK |
| 11.00-11.20 | Shearography | John Tyrer Laser Optical Engineering Ltd |
| 11.20-11.30 | Q&A session | |
| 11.30-12.10 | Exhibition, tea and coffee – Concorde Room | |
| Session 3B: Changes in the air and NDT of new materials and processes continued | Chair: Tom O'Hare | |
| 12.10-12.30 | Addressing non-conformity between the digital twin and reality on complex-shaped parts | Thomas Gramberger Fill GmbH, Austria |
| 12.30-12.50 | From sound to sight: bringing defects into focus with 4D views and advanced POD techniques | Matt Day Dolphitech Ltd, UK |
| 12.50-13.10 | Robotised laser-excited UT for contact-free and water-free composite inspection | Stefan Wunderl XARION Laser Acoustics GmbH, Austria |
| 13.10-13.30 | Embedded self-sensing overload sensing for composite structures | Meisam Jalalvand University of Southampton, UK |
| 13.30-13.40 | Q&A session | |
| 13.40-14.40 | Exhibition and lunch – Concorde Room | |
| Session 4: Quantum leaps – academic research in NDT | Chair: Tom O'Hare | |
| 14.40-15.00 | Ultrasonic inspection of fastener-hole cracks using a 2D array | Yanghao Wu University of Bristol, UK |
| 15.00-15.20 | Case studies of laminography in aerospace | James Bennett Omni NDE, USA |
| 15.20-15.40 | Electromagnetic testing – SECURE: Technology advancement for the inspection of layered structures | Apostolos Kotouzas, Technology & Quality Control Centre (TQCC), Greece, and Vyron Drosos, Nortest, Cyprus |
| 15.40-16.00 | Q&A session | |
| 16.00 | Day two raffle and closing address of event | |
For further information contact: Events and Awards Department, The British Institute of Non-Destructive Testing,
Midsummer House, Riverside Way, Bedford Road, Northampton NN1 5NX, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1604 438300; Email: conf@bindt.org
